R2D2 Confirmed for STAR WARS: EPISODE VII?

J.J. Abrams' production company, Bad Robot, tweeted out an image today of a familiar looking droid.

With "Hi from the workshop! #StarWarsVII" as the full text, the image of J.J. Abrams standing next to R2D2, the astromech droid that has been at the center of all six episodes of the Star Wars series so far.

The production led by Abrams for Disney/Lucasfilm has been under very strict lock-and-key. With open auditions ongoing across the globe, we expect the communication will start opening up soon. All we know for sure is that Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan are writing the film, Abrams is directing it, it shoots in the Spring of 2014, and releases December 18, 2015.

And, now, it looks like R2D2 can be added to the (at least reasonably) "sure" column.